https://www.scmp.com/rss/325315/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The amount of heat trapped by the Earth reached record levels in 2025, with the consequences of such warming feared to last for thousands of years, the UN warned on Monday. The 11 hottest years ever recorded were all between 2015 and 2025, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) weather and climate agency confirmed, in its flagship State of the Global Climate annual report. Last year was the second or third hottest year on record, at about 1.43 degrees Celsius above the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3347542/flashing-red-un-alarmed-heat-trapped-earth-hits-record-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3347542/flashing-red-un-alarmed-heat-trapped-earth-hits-record-high?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 05:03:51 +0000 David Dodwell David Dodwell Spare a thought for the iceberg A23a which, after an extraordinary 40-year life voyaging around the southern Atlantic Ocean, is this month expected to die unnoticed close to the island of South Georgia, a mess of “brash ice, small icebergs and bergy bits”. A23a was one of the largest “megabergs” to be spawned in our lifetimes. When it broke away from the Filchner Ice Shelf into the Weddell Sea in Western Antarctica in 1986, it covered an area of around 4,000 sq km – about the size of Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3346371/how-icebergs-final-dance-tells-story-about-our-past-and-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3346371/how-icebergs-final-dance-tells-story-about-our-past-and-future?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 08:30:07 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick The Chilean capital Santiago awoke on Wednesday to a mixture of celebration and tension. As the city prepared for the inauguration of its centre-right president, the new government’s first crisis was already unfolding behind the scenes: an undersea fibre-optic cable linking the South American country to Hong Kong that had enraged Washington and may prove a watershed moment in how Latin America handles critical infrastructure projects and its partnership with Beijing. Jose Antonio Kast was... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346261/inauguration-day-chiles-new-president-inherits-chinese-cable-scandal-and-us-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346261/inauguration-day-chiles-new-president-inherits-chinese-cable-scandal-and-us-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 13:44:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press An ungainly barrel of a shark cruising languidly over a barren seabed far too deep for the sun’s rays to illuminate was an unexpected sight. Many experts had thought sharks did not exist in the frigid waters of Antarctica before this sleeper shark lumbered warily and briefly into the spotlight of a video camera, researcher Alan Jamieson said this week. The shark, filmed in January 2025, was a substantial specimen with an estimated length of between three and four metres (10 and 13 feet). “We... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343886/first-ever-antarctic-sleeper-shark-footage-reveals-giant-hunk-icy-depths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3343886/first-ever-antarctic-sleeper-shark-footage-reveals-giant-hunk-icy-depths?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Feb 2026 06:58:41 +0000 Themis Qi Themis Qi Contemporary Amperex Technology’s (CATL) new batteries are ready to be used in extreme cold areas like Antarctica, according to a top engineer, as the Chinese giant eyes untapped markets amid keen electric vehicle (EV) competition. CATL’s Naxtra sodium-ion battery, which will be applied in mass-produced passenger cars for the first time globally this year, is undergoing winter testing in vehicles in chilly Inner Mongolia, the firm and its partner China Changan Automobile Group announced last... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3342907/catls-new-innovation-expands-ev-battery-horizons-untapped-cold-regions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3342907/catls-new-innovation-expands-ev-battery-horizons-untapped-cold-regions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:30:12 +0000 Themis Qi Themis Qi Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has deployed the world’s first sodium-ion batteries in passenger cars, as it aims to stay ahead in China’s fiercely competitive electric vehicle (EV) market amid price volatility in traditional lithium-ion batteries. The company’s new Naxtra battery will be installed in China Changan Automobile Group EVs this week for winter testing in the chilly Inner Mongolia autonomous region in the country’s north. “The breakthroughs in sodium-ion technology bring... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3342481/chinas-catl-tests-evs-and-lithiums-dominance-pioneering-sodium-ion-battery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3342481/chinas-catl-tests-evs-and-lithiums-dominance-pioneering-sodium-ion-battery?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 07:00:37 +0000 Eunice Xu Eunice Xu Chinese household appliances maker Dreame Technology will present gifts of gold and a trip to Antarctica to employees, on top of their year-end bonuses, as the company boosted its position as one of the world’s leading vendors of robot vacuum cleaners. The additional largesse was revealed over the weekend by Dreame founder and CEO Yu Hao in two WeChat Moments posts. Yu said every employee will receive a one-gram gold bonus in addition to their standard year-end payout. The company also planned... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3338029/chinese-robot-vacuum-maker-dreame-gives-gifts-gold-and-trip-antarctica-employees?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3338029/chinese-robot-vacuum-maker-dreame-gives-gifts-gold-and-trip-antarctica-employees?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Dec 2025 11:00:10 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen China has drafted a law on Antarctic affairs, as Beijing looks to protect its interests and strengthen its role in the governance of the southernmost continent. The draft “Antarctic Activities and Environmental Protection Law” was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, on Monday for the first review, state media reported. “The legislation on Antarctic activities and environmental protection will help better coordinate, manage and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337407/china-drafts-law-activities-and-environment-protection-antarctica?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337407/china-drafts-law-activities-and-environment-protection-antarctica?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 04:00:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Arctic has experienced its hottest year since records began, a US science agency announced on Tuesday, as climate change triggers cascading impacts from melting glaciers and sea ice to greening landscapes and disruptions to global weather. Between October 2024 and September 2025, temperatures were 1.6 degrees Celsius (2.88 Fahrenheit) above the 1991-2020 mean, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its annual Arctic Report Card, which draws on data going back to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3336680/arctic-has-hottest-year-ever-recorded-climate-impacts-cascade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3336680/arctic-has-hottest-year-ever-recorded-climate-impacts-cascade?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 17:46:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US military said Monday that it attacked three boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of eight people as scrutiny over the boat strikes is intensifying in the US Congress. The US military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted “designated terrorist organisations”, killing three people in the first vessel, two in the second boat and three in the third boat. It did not provide evidence of their alleged drug trafficking but posted a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336572/us-military-says-strikes-3-boats-eastern-pacific-ocean-kills-8?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336572/us-military-says-strikes-3-boats-eastern-pacific-ocean-kills-8?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 03:43:45 +0000 Bochen Han,Seong Hyeon Choi Bochen Han,Seong Hyeon Choi The senior Democrat on a US congressional committee focused on China is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to fill the State Department’s vacant post for Arctic affairs, citing intensifying competition with Beijing and adding to growing pressure to address the vacancy. The Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs leads US engagement with the eight-country Arctic Council and coordinates American interests related to safety and security, economic development and intergovernmental cooperation. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3336131/senior-us-democrat-urges-rubio-fill-arctic-affairs-post-halt-china-and-russias-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3336131/senior-us-democrat-urges-rubio-fill-arctic-affairs-post-halt-china-and-russias-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 20:05:25 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang Malaysia’s announcement that the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 will resume was welcome news for Jiang Hui, whose mother was a passenger on the plane. “I hope the truth will come out soon, the wait has been such a torment for the families,” he wrote in a social media post sharing the news. Malaysia’s transport ministry made the announcement on Wednesday, more than a decade after the Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3335153/chinese-families-hope-truth-will-come-out-when-hunt-missing-flight-mh370-resumes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3335153/chinese-families-hope-truth-will-come-out-when-hunt-missing-flight-mh370-resumes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 05:00:11 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang On the 32nd anniversary of New Oriental, a private Beijing-based education services provider, the company’s founder, Yu Minhong, wrote an internal letter to his staff about his trip to the South Pole. “I am standing in the icy world of Antarctica, surrounded by vast expanses of pure white, emerald-like icebergs and boundless tranquillity,” he wrote. “The glaciers shimmer with a captivating glow under the sunlight, as if to silently declare the power of time and the meaning of perseverance.” He... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334051/elite-success-stories-are-cold-comfort-disillusioned-young-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334051/elite-success-stories-are-cold-comfort-disillusioned-young-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 01:30:11 +0000 Yating Yang Yating Yang Chinese education giant New Oriental has ignited online controversy after its founder posted an internal message from his holiday in Antarctica while employees were reportedly frustrated with long working hours. The message from Yu Minhong, which was designed to mark the company’s 32nd anniversary, has been slammed as self-serving and tone deaf. New Oriental was founded in 1993 in Beijing and began as a provider of Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Graduate Record Examinations... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3333421/overworked-staff-angered-china-education-tycoons-anniversary-letter-antarctica?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3333421/overworked-staff-angered-china-education-tycoons-anniversary-letter-antarctica?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Nov 2025 10:00:14 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat In 2003, a decade after the humiliation of the Yinhe incident – when a Chinese container ship was left stranded for weeks after the United States jammed its Global Positioning System (GPS) – Beijing set its sights on bypassing the American satellite network. At first, it turned to the European Union, pledging €230 million (then US$260 million) to join the Galileo project, an independent satellite navigation system designed to reduce Europe’s reliance on GPS. But the partnership did not last.... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3332333/china-has-big-ambitions-space-and-arctic-should-west-be-worried?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3332333/china-has-big-ambitions-space-and-arctic-should-west-be-worried?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 22:00:14 +0000 William Zheng William Zheng The launch of the Fujian, China’s third and most advanced aircraft carrier, has been cause for celebration in Chinese media, with mainland analysts hailing it as superior to its US counterparts and a force for projecting power further into the western Pacific. But overseas analysts have been more tempered, suggesting that there is still a big gap between the naval force of the People’s Liberation Army and the United States in terms of the number of carriers, combat systems, personnel proficiency... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3332050/can-fujian-aircraft-carrier-catapult-pla-navy-deep-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3332050/can-fujian-aircraft-carrier-catapult-pla-navy-deep-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2025 14:00:09 +0000 Stephen Chen Stephen Chen Chinese scientists and engineers have pushed far beyond a string of US military bases known as the second island chain, reaching a seamount in the western Pacific Ocean 2,000 metres (6,561 feet) below the surface to test a smart mining vehicle designed to harvest cobalt-rich deposits, gathering critical performance data. The robotic miner showed its ability to traverse rugged seabeds littered with cobalt crusts, autonomously adjusting its posture to avoid overturning or being... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3330984/china-crosses-us-2nd-island-chain-deep-sea-cobalt-mining-rover-western-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3330984/china-crosses-us-2nd-island-chain-deep-sea-cobalt-mining-rover-western-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Nov 2025 13:00:13 +0000 dpa dpa What was once the largest iceberg in the world may soon vanish into the vastness of the ocean. Covering about 4,000 sq km (1,500 square miles) when it broke away, the iceberg – named A23a – was once roughly twice the size of Greater London, the largest city by land mass in western Europe. A23a broke off from Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in 1986 and remained grounded on the seabed in the Weddell Sea for over 30 years. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has been tracking the mega-iceberg... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3331476/a23a-once-largest-iceberg-world-will-soon-disappear-because-warmer-waters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3331476/a23a-once-largest-iceberg-world-will-soon-disappear-because-warmer-waters?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:15:08 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat China’s geopolitical rivalry with the West is expanding into new frontiers – including the polar regions, outer space, cyberspace and the deep sea – as Beijing unveils a flurry of scientific milestones and state-driven ambitions that analysts say are challenging traditional Western dominance across these critical domains. On Monday, China announced that its independently designed and built polar research vessel – the world’s first manned deep-sea-operations depot ship with icebreaking... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3330611/chinas-geopolitical-competition-expands-new-frontiers-scientific-milestones?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3330611/chinas-geopolitical-competition-expands-new-frontiers-scientific-milestones?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Oct 2025 13:00:10 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Deep-sea animals in the Pacific Ring of Fire off Japan are rapidly growing and adapting, scientists observed in crewed submersible dives. Creatures in the deep, dark ocean have evolved diverse strategies to survive, adapting to varying depths and nutrient availability. The team from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology published their findings gleaned from studies in the Ring of Fire – a Pacific belt that contains hundreds of active and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3330216/biologists-discover-ring-fire-creatures-have-array-deep-sea-survival-mechanisms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3330216/biologists-discover-ring-fire-creatures-have-array-deep-sea-survival-mechanisms?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Oct 2025 09:00:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters Bird flu is spreading rapidly in Europe, with the highest number of countries in at least a decade reporting early outbreaks, raising concerns about a repeat of past crises that led to the culling of tens of millions of birds and higher food prices. Meanwhile, Australian scientists have found hundreds of dead seal pups on Heard Island in the sub-Antarctic with signs that suggest they were killed by bird flu, authorities said on Friday. The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330251/bird-flu-spread-raises-fears-new-crisis-amid-scientists-investigating-deaths-seals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330251/bird-flu-spread-raises-fears-new-crisis-amid-scientists-investigating-deaths-seals?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 10:58:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters Global warming was crossing dangerous thresholds sooner than expected with the world’s coral reefs now in an almost irreversible die-off, marking what scientists on Monday described as the first “tipping point” in climate-driven ecosystem collapse. The warning in the Global Tipping Points report by 160 researchers worldwide, which synthesises groundbreaking science to estimate points of no return, came just weeks ahead of this year’s Cop30 climate summit being held at the edge of the Amazon... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3328754/first-climate-tipping-point-crossed-scientists-warn-ahead-cop30?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3328754/first-climate-tipping-point-crossed-scientists-warn-ahead-cop30?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 04:16:00 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela China has completed its first manned deep dive below the Arctic polar ice in what was also the world’s first coordinated crewed-uncrewed submersible operation in the polar region. The dives were conducted as part of China’s 15th and largest Arctic Ocean science expedition, which concluded last month. Researchers collected hundreds of deep-sea samples as well as data on biodiversity, ocean hydrology, sea ice conditions and water chemistry – including with the help of artificial intelligence (AI),... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3327925/china-marks-largest-arctic-ocean-foray-first-manned-deep-dive-below-polar-ice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3327925/china-marks-largest-arctic-ocean-foray-first-manned-deep-dive-below-polar-ice?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Oct 2025 11:15:34 +0000 Hadi Azmi Hadi Azmi Malaysia’s National Security Council has ordered a temporary tightening of security at Petronas’ massive gas facility in Borneo and launched an immediate investigation into what it described as a “threat” to the critical energy infrastructure. The NSC on Monday said it was taking “proactive measures” in response to security threats targeting liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities nationwide, with a particular focus on the complex in Bintulu, a town in the Bornean state of Sarawak. “The Malaysian... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324853/malaysia-tightens-security-petronas-bintulu-lng-hub-investigate-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324853/malaysia-tightens-security-petronas-bintulu-lng-hub-investigate-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Sep 2025 06:28:06 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Two Venezuelan military aircraft flew over an American naval vessel in international waters off the coast, according to the Pentagon, a fresh escalation between the two adversaries after the US struck a speedboat purportedly carrying drugs from the country. “This highly provocative manoeuvre was designed to interfere with our counter-narcotics operations,” the Pentagon said. It said the “cartel” running Venezuela is “strongly advised” not to interfere with any other operations by the US. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3324425/us-says-venezuelan-aircraft-flew-over-navy-vessel-international-waters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3324425/us-says-venezuelan-aircraft-flew-over-navy-vessel-international-waters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 03:38:01 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Nearly 40 years after breaking off Antarctica, a colossal iceberg ranked among the oldest and largest ever recorded is finally crumbling apart in warmer waters, and could disappear within weeks. Earlier this year, the “megaberg” known as A23a weighed a little under a trillion tonnes and was more than twice the size of Greater London, a behemoth unrivalled at the time. The gigantic slab of frozen freshwater was so large it even briefly threatened penguin feeding grounds on a remote island in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3324124/one-earths-biggest-icebergs-breaking-could-disappear-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3324124/one-earths-biggest-icebergs-breaking-could-disappear-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 02:51:00 +0000 Reuters Reuters Norway said on Sunday it had chosen Britain as its strategic partner for the acquisition of new frigates in its biggest ever military investment, in a deal worth some £10 billion (US$13.51 billion) to boost the Nordic country’s maritime defence. Germany, France, Britain and the United States had offered rival frigate designs in competition. “The frigates are an essential part of our defence because they are key to defend our sovereignty,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a press... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323825/norway-buy-uk-made-frigates-monitor-russian-submarines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323825/norway-buy-uk-made-frigates-monitor-russian-submarines?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Aug 2025 12:24:24 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen China has taken aim at Britain’s growing ties with Japan, warning it against any involvement in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a British aircraft carrier made a port call in Tokyo. “We urge Britain and Japan to deeply reflect on their erroneous words and deeds regarding Taiwan- and maritime-related issues, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and refrain from stirring up trouble and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific region,” the Chinese embassy in Britain said on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3323692/beijing-sends-warning-taiwan-south-china-sea-across-bow-uk-japan-defence-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3323692/beijing-sends-warning-taiwan-south-china-sea-across-bow-uk-japan-defence-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Aug 2025 13:00:15 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen Russian and Chinese submarines have conducted their first joint patrol in the Pacific, the latest in a series of efforts to expand military cooperation between the two countries. The Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet said on Wednesday that the patrol began in early August after five days of joint naval exercises in the Sea of Japan – also known as the East Sea – from August 1. “The diesel-electric submarine Volkhov of the Pacific Fleet and a submarine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy took... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3323527/russian-and-chinese-submarines-join-forces-pacific-patrol-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3323527/russian-and-chinese-submarines-join-forces-pacific-patrol-first?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 14:00:08 +0000 Orange Wang Orange Wang The Chinese government has hit out at US freedom of navigation operations in the first report of its kind. The report – “Legal Assessment of the United States’ ‘Freedom of Navigation’” – is the first official study of its kind published by Beijing and marks its growing desire to challenge what it characterised as “gunboat diplomacy”. “US ‘freedom of navigation’ lacks a basis in international law and seriously distorts the interpretation and development of international law,” the report said. It... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3323104/china-challenges-us-freedom-navigation-operations-having-no-legal-basis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3323104/china-challenges-us-freedom-navigation-operations-having-no-legal-basis?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 14:00:09 +0000 Carl Zhang Carl Zhang China’s intensifying interest in the Arctic has aroused concerns in the US, which has been monitoring the progress of five Chinese icebreakers and research vessels since before they passed through the Bering Strait earlier this month. The fleet is led by the domestically built Xue Long 2, one of the world’s newest generation polar research icebreakers and the first to adopt an intelligent hull and engine room design. Over the past five years, the Xue Long 2 has conducted nearly 10 scientific... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322730/why-us-uneasy-chinas-5-strong-icebreaker-fleet-arrives-arctic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322730/why-us-uneasy-chinas-5-strong-icebreaker-fleet-arrives-arctic?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Aug 2025 04:00:10 +0000 Michael Tene Michael Tene As Asean celebrates its 58th anniversary, it is inhabiting a liminal moment, one that straddles the unmarked border between two international eras. One era is lingering but on its way out as another is hobbling its way in. The Cold War is long gone and the subsequent period of American unipolar primacy is drawing to a close, albeit without a new global order to replace it. The great powers are in the throes of an inevitable transition. The United States and China each believe that history is on... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3322211/us-and-china-compete-asean-could-play-arbiter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3322211/us-and-china-compete-asean-could-play-arbiter?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 01:30:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Hurricane Erin exploded in strength to a potentially catastrophic Category 5 storm in the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day, the National Hurricane Centre said. While the compact hurricane’s centre was not expected to hit land, it threatened to dump flooding rains as it continued to grow larger. The first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, Erin ramped up from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in a mere 24 hours. By late Saturday morning, its... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3322101/erin-strengthens-become-first-hurricane-atlantic-season?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3322101/erin-strengthens-become-first-hurricane-atlantic-season?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Vanessa Cai Vanessa Cai China urged the United States to restrain frontline forces on Friday after a US destroyer entered disputed waters in the South China Sea. Chinese defence ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said China had expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” and had lodged stern representations with the United States over the matter. “We urge the US to effectively restrain its frontline forces and immediately cease its related acts of infringement and provocation against China,” Jiang said. “The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322017/china-tells-us-rein-frontline-forces-after-scarborough-shoal-infringement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322017/china-tells-us-rein-frontline-forces-after-scarborough-shoal-infringement?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Aug 2025 09:37:50 +0000 Fan Chen,Laura Zhou Fan Chen,Laura Zhou Beijing has warned Manila to stop “playing with fire” after the Philippine president said on a trip to India that his country would “have to get involved” if a China-US conflict arose in the Taiwan Strait. In an interview with Indian media outlet Firstpost on Wednesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said: “To be very practical about it, if there is confrontation over Taiwan between China and the United States, there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of it simply because of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321176/beijing-warns-manila-stop-playing-fire-after-marcos-makes-taiwan-remarks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321176/beijing-warns-manila-stop-playing-fire-after-marcos-makes-taiwan-remarks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 04:29:05 +0000 Zhihua Zheng Zhihua Zheng Last month, the United States coastguard “detected and responded to” the Chinese research vessel Xue Long 2 around 290 nautical miles north of Utqiagvik, Alaska. The US said the vessel was sailing within its “extended continental shelf” and implied the Chinese operation was engaged in “malign state activity”. This reveals troubling inconsistencies in the US’ approach towards international maritime law, raising serious doubts about Washington’s commitment to the rules-based international order it... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3320974/us-shouldnt-disrespect-chinas-right-high-seas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3320974/us-shouldnt-disrespect-chinas-right-high-seas?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Aug 2025 21:30:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A volcano erupted for the first time in 475 years in Russia’s eastern Kamchatka region, the nation’s emergency authority said on Sunday, days after one of the strongest earthquakes on record hit the region. Pictures released by Russian state media show a towering plume of ash spewing from the Krasheninnikov volcano, which last erupted in 1550, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program. The plume is estimated to have reached an altitude of 6,000 metres (19,700 feet),... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3320579/russian-volcano-erupts-first-time-475-years-likely-triggered-quake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3320579/russian-volcano-erupts-first-time-475-years-likely-triggered-quake?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Aug 2025 05:15:00 +0000 Enoch Wong Enoch Wong China has for the first time released a video showing its coastguard towing away a Philippine ship in the South China Sea, using its strongest language yet to describe such confrontations with Manila in the disputed waters. In the video released by state broadcaster CCTV on Friday morning, the Chinese coastguard documented a tense six-minute confrontation at Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Renai Jiao. The incident ended with the “infringing vessel being towed away”, according to the Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3320425/chinas-coastguard-tows-philippine-ship-after-tense-maritime-clash-new-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3320425/chinas-coastguard-tows-philippine-ship-after-tense-maritime-clash-new-video?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Aug 2025 08:22:26 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen Chinese warships have sailed into the main port of Russia’s Pacific Fleet ahead of a joint naval exercise this week in the Sea of Japan – also known as the East Sea, according to Russian media. The guided-missile destroyers the Shaoxing and the Urumqi arrived at the eastern port city of Vladivostok for the five-day joint naval drill that starts on Friday, state news agency Sputnik reported on Thursday, quoting Russia’s Pacific Fleet. The drills will also involve diesel-electric submarines and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3320195/china-announces-joint-naval-exercise-russia-pacific-august?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3320195/china-announces-joint-naval-exercise-russia-pacific-august?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jul 2025 19:03:59 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Trawling near Antarctica for krill – a crustacean central to the diet of whales and a critical buffer to global warming – has surged to a record and is fast approaching a never-before-reached seasonal catch limit that would trigger the unprecedented early closure of the remote fishery. The fishing boom follows the failure last year of the US, Russia, China and two dozen other governments to approve a new management plan that would have mandated spreading out the area in which krill could be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3319943/antarcticas-krill-catch-hits-record-high-after-china-backs-out-conservation-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3319943/antarcticas-krill-catch-hits-record-high-after-china-backs-out-conservation-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Jul 2025 05:29:35 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Police in India have arrested a man who allegedly ran a fake embassy from a luxury bungalow near New Delhi for seven years, using it to front job scams and a money-laundering operation under the guise of representing fictional countries like “Westartica” and “Saborga”. The suspect, 47-year-old Harshvardhan Jain, had styled himself the “Baron of Westartica” and projected the image of a globe-trotting diplomat, complete with diplomatic vehicles, forged documents and Photoshopped images of him... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3319404/fake-ambassador-arrested-india-running-embassy-imaginary-micronations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3319404/fake-ambassador-arrested-india-running-embassy-imaginary-micronations?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Jul 2025 07:22:30 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Interpol’s decision to drop a decade-old red notice against Paul Watson, the outspoken founder of marine conservation group Sea Shepherd, has sparked outrage in Japan, with critics accusing the international police agency of bowing to Western bias and undermining justice for alleged attacks on Japanese whalers. Interpol announced on Tuesday that it had removed the red notice – a non-binding request for the arrest and extradition of a wanted individual – after a review by its independent... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3319314/japan-sees-red-interpol-drops-arrest-request-whale-activist-paul-watson?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3319314/japan-sees-red-interpol-drops-arrest-request-whale-activist-paul-watson?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Jul 2025 01:30:20 +0000 SCMP SCMP Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. US-China trade deal may resemble phase 1 pact from Trump’s first term: ex-official The US-China deal under negotiation is likely to bear similarities to the phase one trade agreement from Donald Trump’s first term, according to a former senior official in that administration – offering clues to what the highly anticipated pact may look like just weeks... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3318623/us-china-trade-deal-clues-emirates-flight-diverted-taiwan-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3318623/us-china-trade-deal-clues-emirates-flight-diverted-taiwan-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jul 2025 13:15:08 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin High on the Tibetan Plateau, China has completed a cutting-edge telescope designed to detect ripples in spacetime from the dawn of the universe with the help of the United States – strengthening a global effort to probe how everything began. The Ali Cosmic Microwave Background Polarisation Telescope (AliCPT), perched at 5,250 metres (17,220 ft) in Tibet’s remote Ali prefecture, was finished this month after eight years of construction involving 16 institutions worldwide, including Stanford... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3318387/china-joins-us-hunt-ripples-spacetime-new-telescope-tibet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3318387/china-joins-us-hunt-ripples-spacetime-new-telescope-tibet?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jul 2025 14:00:12 +0000 Barry Zellen Barry Zellen A report and interactive map from Harvard University’s Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs, “Cutting Through Narratives on Chinese Arctic Investments”, published last month and co-authored by an international team of scholars argues that China’s presence in the Arctic has been exaggerated by numerous analysts and commentators. This much-needed breath of fresh air generated a healthy – if short-lived and industry- and geographically concentrated – rise in scepticism of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3318160/chinas-engagement-arctic-part-and-parcel-being-global-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3318160/chinas-engagement-arctic-part-and-parcel-being-global-power?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jul 2025 08:30:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump will host his Philippine counterpart in the White House this month to discuss how the long-time treaty allies can further deepen their security and economic engagements, Philippine officials said on Friday. President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr will visit the United States from July 20 to 22, but Philippine officials were still finalising details of his meeting with Trump with the US State Department, the Philippine government said. The allies have boosted mutual defence... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3317919/us-trump-host-philippines-marcos-jnr-discuss-asia-trade-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3317919/us-trump-host-philippines-marcos-jnr-discuss-asia-trade-security?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jul 2025 11:52:20 +0000 Reuters Reuters Rescuers pulled three more crew members and a security guard alive from the Red Sea on Thursday, maritime security sources said, a day after Houthi militants sank the Greek ship Eternity C and said they were holding some of the crew still missing. It was the second Greek bulk carrier sunk this week by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia, shattering months of relative calm off Yemen’s coast, the gateway to the Red Sea and a critical route for oil and commodities to the world. Many shipping companies... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3317778/rescuers-save-4-more-survivors-houthi-struck-ship-red-sea-10-still-missing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3317778/rescuers-save-4-more-survivors-houthi-struck-ship-red-sea-10-still-missing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 23:23:48 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen China’s defence ministry has denied using lasers to target a German plane over the Red Sea as the two countries continue to trade barbs over the alleged incident. The German foreign ministry said on Tuesday that a People’s Liberation Army warship had shone a laser at a German surveillance plane “without reason or prior contact”, and Berlin had summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest. But on Thursday the defence ministry told the South China Morning Post the accusation “was completely... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3317607/beijing-denies-german-accusation-pla-laser-targeted-aircraft-patrolling-red-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3317607/beijing-denies-german-accusation-pla-laser-targeted-aircraft-patrolling-red-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jul 2025 20:32:10 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Crew members aboard a ship set ablaze by a series of attacks in the Red Sea abandoned the vessel on Sunday night as it took on water, marking the first serious assault in the vital corridor for trade after a months-long campaign by Yemen’s Houthi rebels there. Suspicion for the attack immediately fell on the Houthis, particularly as a security firm said it appeared bomb-carrying drone boats hit the ship after it was targeted by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. The rebels’ media reported... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3317157/gunfire-rocket-propelled-grenades-attack-ship-red-sea-yemen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3317157/gunfire-rocket-propelled-grenades-attack-ship-red-sea-yemen?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Jul 2025 14:28:44 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran The Philippines is adopting a Japan-led strategy to treat the East and South China seas as a unified theatre of operations – a shift that is seen to reflect growing alignment among regional allies in the face of China’s expanding maritime footprint. Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the “one-theatre” concept would promote operational synergy, intelligence-sharing and mutual reinforcement among members of the minilateral “Squad” – comprising the Philippines, Japan, the United States, South... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3316668/philippines-joins-japans-one-theatre-plan-against-china-sea-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3316668/philippines-joins-japans-one-theatre-plan-against-china-sea-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jul 2025 04:00:15 +0000